WINSTON-SALEM, North Carolina — John Isner admitted the Winston-Salem Open final wasn't the best tennis he's played this season. Still, the end result was just what Isner hoped for — another momentum-building victory heading into the US Open. Isner won his second straight Winston-Salem title Saturday, battling through a third-set tiebreaker to beat seventh-ranked Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (11-9). Isner had 22 aces, but needed to overcome his own mistakes for his second win this season and fifth career title in the final hard-court tournament before the US Open. “There were certainly some tense times all throughout the match,” said Isner, who also won at Newport, R.I., last month. “At times, it wasn't the prettiest tennis, but I was able to gut it out. I'm very, very proud of that.” Berdych, playing in his third final this season, broke Isner's serve in winning the first set, and had three mini-breaks in the tiebreaker, the last giving him match point at 6-5. But Isner broke Berdych on the next point to tie the score, and later went on to win the last three points. “It was a point that I'm going to see for quite a long time,” said Berdych, who is seeded sixth at the US Open and will play Winston-Salem quarterfinalist David Goffin of Belgium in the first round. “I hope there's going to be enough time to put this out of my mind, but remember all the matches before it, which were pretty good for me.” However, Isner had some lucky breaks. Tied 9-9, Isner barely returned a hard crosscourt backhand, and was left out of position as Berdych approached the net. But Berdych's forehand hit the net cord and bounced out of bounds, giving Isner match point. “I was prepared to all-out dive if that ball had made it over the net,” Isner said. On match point, Isner had to chase down a hard forehand and backhand from Berdych, putting both returns on the line. Isner then ripped his own hard forehand down the line to win the tiebreaker and the match. Kvitova wins title In Connecticut, Petra Kvitova beat Maria Kirilenko 7-6 (9), 7-5 Saturday to win the New Haven Open, the Czech star's second WTA tournament title in three weeks. The second-seeded Kvitova trailed 5-2 in the second set, before reeling off five consecutive games for the victory that avenged a loss to the Russian in the Olympic quarterfinals. The fifth-ranked player in the world improved to 22-5 on hard courts this season heading into the US Open. She clinched the US Open series championship this week after winning her first title of the year in Montreal and reaching the semifinals in Cincinnati. Kirilenko, the seventh seed, was seeking her first title this year. Her boyfriend, NHL star Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals, watched the match from the player's box. — Agencies
